Chad With A Chance
by riverknowshisname
Summary: Three years after Sonny Munroe left So Random, Grady approaches her with a role on his new TV Show "Life As Ex's" a show about an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend, they haven't really flushed out the story yet, with Sonny as the leading lady, and Nico, who took it upon himself to hire Chad Dylan Cooper who is no longer on Mackenzie Falls. Does Chad still have a chance?


_**I recently got back into Sonny With A Chance and this story just started coming together, so I hope you enjoy it. **_

_**I don't own the characters or the show, but if I did, there'd've been a reunion already. Just saying.**_

* * *

"Okay," Grady says turning to Sonny. "I'm really glad to have you in this show Sonny, you have no idea."

"Does Nico know I'm doing it?" Sonny asks quizzically.

"Well," he hesitates, "no."

"Grady!"

"Hey!" he says in his defense, "I didn't tell him who to hire and he didn't tell me who to hire. The girl is my character, my casting, my directing. The guy is his. That's just how this worked out. I don't know who he picked and he doesn't know who I picked."

"Is that even a good idea?"

"Not the point," he says with a sigh. "I'm just glad you came back for this Sonny. I envisioned you as the lead since Nico and I wrote the thing."

"Oh really?" Sonny asks with mild curiosity.

"Yeah," he nods. "But I didn't think you'd take it. You hitting the big times and all."

"I'll always be here to help you Grady," she says with a sigh. "Just because I quit _So Random_ a few years ago, it doesn't mean that I don't still care about you guys."

"Well, maybe not Tawni," he says harshly. "You still hang out with her. You were in her wedding!"

"Yeah?" Sonny asks defensively. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," Grady shakes his head, "no, not at all."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to."

"Good," Sonny says sharply.

"Good," says Grady with mild humor.

With a sigh Sonny is thrown back to a few years ago. Her last day on the set of _So Random_ and of the parting she had with Chad Dylan Cooper, the "greatest actor of our generation." Breaking up with Chad had broken her heart in ways she didn't think existed. Yes, the reason she broke up with him was valid, but telling him there were no second chances…well, that was something she regretted nearly as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Chad missed her, and she missed him. It got too much to handle when Mackenzie started getting in more and more relationships on the _Falls_ and she just couldn't handle it anymore. Yes even leaving the show didn't get her away from Chad Dylan Cooper or _Mackenzie Falls_, but it was something she had to try.

"Aha!" hollered Grady.

"What?" Sonny asks as she faces him.

"Nico's almost here," his smile bright. "Let's go meet up with them."

"Okay." Sonny was hesitant and with good reason. She hadn't been the lead in a show since _So Random_ and that wasn't exactly a drama, so she didn't think it really counted. Though, now as she found herself in this situation her heart began to race. She would be meeting the man who is to play her opposite in the new show that Grady and Nico came up with. Breakout program for them, but the network ate it up.

Grady and Sonny walk through the empty room and as Grady pulls a door so that Sonny can walk through it. Not paying much attention Sonny walks right into someone. Stepping back and apologizing profusely. This is not how she wanted to start this show, or working on this show, and now she'd almost—

"Chad?" Sonny asks, her jaw dropped.

"Sonny?" he asks his shoulders immediately dropping.

"Oh, come on!" Shout Nico and Grady together.

"Chad?!" Hollers Grady, "You got Chad?! Why did you get Chad?!"

"Well," says Nico, "You have Sonny! Why did you get Sonny?!"

"I thought she was perfect for the part!"

"And I thought Chad was perfect for the part," counters Nico.

"But," Grady gestures at the – still silent – Sonny Monroe and Chad Dylan Cooper, "Look at them!"

"What about them?" says Nico as he throws his arms up in the air. "They've done this before!"

"When they were _dating_!" shouts Grady.

"It's—" Sonny tries to interject.

"How could you be so insensitive?" Grady continues.

"It's really—" Sonny tries again.

"How could you expect this to work, Nico?" Grady says throwing his arms up into the air, before they free-fall to his sides.

"Grady!" Sonny shouts.

"Uh," he stops and looks at her. "Yes, Sonny?"

"It's okay."

"'It's okay'?" Grady asks, making sure he heard her right.

"What's okay Sonny?" asks Nico, now standing right beside Grady.

"This'll be fine," Sonny tries to nod unconvincingly.

"Sonny?" Chad speaks again, still in shock. He hadn't seen her since she left _So Random_, though he'd always kept himself updated on her life, and her career. He was always so proud of her for getting to wherever she got. He was finally content at watching from a distance, and then from out of nowhere…here she is standing in front of him.

"Chad," Sonny attempts a smile.

"Congrats on your life, Sonny," he says before thinking about what he's going to say.

"Um," she crosses her arms, "thanks." Standing this close to him just reminds her when they stopped talking before. This was too hard for her. "_Tell me what to do-ooo, about you, I already know I can see in your eyes when you're sellin' the truth. It's been a long time coming, so where are you running to?_" The words in song form are out of her mouth before she has even a seconds time to take them back, or explain them away.

"_You've got your way of speakin,' even the air you're breathin', you could be anything, but you don't know what to believe in, you've got the world before you, if I could only show you, you don't know what to do…_" Chad sings back. "You wrote that about me, didn't you, Sonny?"

"Yeah…" Sonny admits hesitantly.

"You were right, Sonny."

Suddenly screams come from the other side of the studio. "_It's Chad Dylan Cooper_!" Three girls rush over and surround Chad. It takes a moment but then one of them notices Sonny standing across from him. "_It's Sonny Monroe_!" The one girl screams at her friends and they all spin so fast Sonny felt a little motion sick.

"Sonny!" The screaming girl shouts at Sonny. "You're here! Back here!" She's hyperventilating, but Sonny and Chad couldn't quite understand why she was such a unique case, or why they both seemed so surprised by this girls' outburst.

"Sonny," Chad says again.

"No matter how many times you say it, Chad," says Sonny, looking over the shoulder of the screaming girl she was currently signing an autograph for, "it will always be my name."

"Yeah, yeah," he nods, "see I knew that—"

"Is it that you're not getting the attention?" she asks somewhat bitterly.

"No…"

"Is there some other award you want to take away from me?" She asks harshly before shoving the picture back into the screaming girls' hands. "Is there some other thing in my life that has any kind of significance or importance to me that you want to take, you know, before we start this new show?"

"New show?" Squeals the girl and her friends.

"Oh yeah," says Grady as he and Nico start to pull the girls from the room.

"Allow us to tell you alllll about it." And then Nico, Grady, and the three girls are gone and the only ones left are Sonny and Chad.

"Sonny," says Chad with a sigh, "I'm so sorry about that. There hasn't been a day that's gone by, that I haven't regretted that."

"Well, it's too late for regret Chad."

"On the contrary, Sonny, there is always time for regret, and that is among the biggest," he sighs raising his index finger in the air, "if not _the biggest_ mistake I've made in my entire life."

"You didn't seem too broken up about it," says Sonny nodding in the direction of a newsstand with the headline _Mackenzie Falls…In Love._

"That's not true, Sonny," he shakes his head and takes a step closer to her. "There's never been anyone else for me, but you. You were mah lady. I didn't really care about those other girls. They were just there, to keep the loneliness at bay…but at the end of the night…well, that's always when I want you Sonny. I've never regretted a single thing in my life more."

"Chad—"

"You were right," he nods, "I was shallow, and selfish, and I didn't realize what that recount would do to you…to us. I've never lost anything that big before Sonny—"

"Glad to see I rank below—"

"You don't." He shakes his head emphatically, "You were the _most_ important thing in my life…and I blew it. Outright blew it, and I have no one to blame but myself. I could have done better. I _should_ have done better…and I didn't, but that's my fault, not yours."

"I know…"

"You broke my heart Sonny…" his voice cracks.

"Well you broke mine too, Chad."

"I know." He shakes his head before continuing. "I wanted to make it up to you, and I tried…over and over again, but nothing that I did made me feel any better."

"The _Falls_ suffered," Sonny mentions. Chad's character was much more emotional in following episodes, Sonny was convinced that was because of their breakup. They tried to hang out, but it didn't work. All it did was solidify just how much she loved him and how much it hurt to be around him. So after a year of trying to work past it, she gave up and left _So Random_ and Condor Studios. Chad would be alright without her…but she knew that was wrong too, whether she wanted to admit it or not, her and Chad were better together than they were apart. They'd never made Tween Weekly in such a way before or since. Everyone was saddened by the breakup, everyone including Sonny and Chad. Sonny had eventually caved to the Randoms and let them do a Rad Gilligan Fibber sketch, just because they were relentless. Chad knew it was about him, and what made it worse was he was there that night. Sonny'd never felt more guilty for a sketch in her entire time on _So Random_. That was actually the night she quit. "What To Do" gained in popularity, and obviously Chad had listened to it since he just sang part of it to her.

"Yes," he nods. "Of course the _Falls_ suffered. How could I play a guy who had finally found the right relationship with the right girl, when I'd just blown my right relationship with my right girl? I couldn't be Mackenzie without you Sonny."

"You did just fine before I joined _So Random_."

"Yes," he nods and then shakes his head, "but not after. Sonny you loved me, not Mackenzie. No one else loved me for Chad. Nobody loved Chad Dylan Cooper. They loved Mackenzie, not Chad. No one else loved Chad!" His shoulders drop and he flings his face into his hands, rubs it vigorously and drops them at his sides. "That Chad is what broke us up. That selfish, stuck up, egocentric Chad, broke us up. He didn't know how to deal with loss, so he messed up and lost the thing most important to him. Not _Mackenzie Falls_, not the car, not my apartment…you. You were the thing I lost Sonny. Losing you was the hardest, and most depressing thing that has ever happened to me. You left the show and the Randoms keyed my car!"

"Oh, Chad," she shakes her head, "you poor baby."

"Not important," he shakes his head before continuing. "I didn't know that Grady had cast you, but if you have a problem with this, well, I'll drop it."

"The show?" she asks shocked.

"Yeah."

"Why would you do that?"

"For you," he says plainly. "For you Sonny."

"_It's been a long time coming…_" Sonny stops singing when she realizes just what part of the song she is at.

"_I can't stop loving you,_" finishes Chad.

"_Chad Chad Chaddy Chad Chad_!" Sing Nico and Grady together as they reenter the room.

"Really?" Sonny asks crossing her arms over her chest. "_Really_?"

"No," Grady and Nico say in unison.

"Sonny!" Comes a voice from behind the group.

"Hi, Tawni," Sonny says without turning around.

"They brought _Cocoa Mocho Cocoa_ back!" She sighs as she walks towards the group, "My life is complete—" She stops beside Sonny and notices Chad. "Chad?!" Looking back and forth between Sonny and Chad she tries to decipher what's going on. "_What_ are you doing here?"

"Me?" asks Chad pointing to himself. "Um, I work here. What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see Sonny—wait, what do you mean you work here?" She glares over at Nico and Grady. "What does he mean he works here?"

"We hired him!" Says Nico excitedly.

"Did you tell Sonny that?" Tawni asks flicking them each on the head.

"I didn't know he cast Chad!" says Grady swatting Tawni's hand away.

"Shouldn't you know who is being cast?" Tawni prods.

"We do!" Says Grady throwing his hands up in surrender. "I cast the girl – Sonny, and Nico cast the guy – Chad."

"Was this intentional?" she asks crossing her arms.

"No," Grady and Nico say slowly and quietly.

"Is this going to be a problem?" Tawni asks Chad and Sonny with a squeak.

"No," say Sonny, "we're playing a couple that's broken up, so it'll just be like real life. It'll make the relationship more believable that way."

Tawni laughs, "Sonny. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Yes," Sonny nods, "Yes. I'm okay with this."

"Okay," says Tawni unconvinced. "I have things to do and people to see. Toodles!" Tawni spins and leaves the room.

"So you're both okay with this?" asks Nico.

"Yes," says Chad, "yes, we're both okay with this."

"Alright! Good!" Says Grady with a smile.

"You're on Good Morning Tween Weekly tomorrow!" enthuses Nico.

"Tween Weekly?" ask Sonny and Chad in unison.

"Yeah," nods Grady. "Just a 'where are they at now?' segment. You'll do great!"

"Okay…" Sonny says slowly. Now she's beginning to wonder if the guys really did have some ulterior motive, maybe about Chad and Sonny getting back together. Well, if they were, whatever it was, isn't going to work. There was a reason her and Chad broke up, and no amount of change can alter that. She'd told him no second chances, so she had to stick to her guns, however much she questioned them.

"Chad!" Mr. Condor calls from the soundstage door. "Dakota is here for you!"

His voice cracks, "right away Mr. Condor."

"Don't keep her waiting," he says, and it sounds almost like a threat.

"Dakota?" Sonny asks as soon as Mr. Condor has left.

"Yeah…" he shakes his head. "See you around Sonny."

"See you tomorrow," says Sonny as Chad starts to walk away.

* * *

"_Tell me what to do, about you, Is there anyway, anything I can say, Won't break us in two, 'Cause it's been a long time coming, I can't stop loving you, Tell me what to do about you…_" sings Sonny as she walks away.

"_I can't stop loving you. Tell me what to do about you…_" sings Chad as he leaves the area.

* * *

"Hello, Sonny," says Chad on the set of Good Morning Tween Weekly.

"Hello, Chad."

"Shall we?" he gestures towards the chairs near where they'll make their grand entrance.

"Sure," she nods and sits down.

"You must be so used to these by now," he says.

"How so?"

"Well, you made it pretty big," he shrugs, "people know who you are, you do these interviews. You sing and act. Everything that people love, and well, you just seem to have a very big fan base."

"I'm sure it's nothing compared to the CDC groupies."

"You'd be surprised," he sighs. "I actually dropped about 200,000 fans when we broke up."

"Oh, Chad," says Sonny sincerely, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Well, I'm still sorry."

"Okay," he says.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" comes the voice of Trevor Raven on the flat screen. "Today we have some very special guests. You know them from their hit shows – in days of old – _So Random'_s Sonny Monroe, and _Mackenzie Falls_' Chad Dylan Cooper!"

Sonny and Chad stand up and walk onto the soundstage. Shake hands with Trevor and go to the same chair, awkwardly Sonny takes the other chair. All of the sudden she's nervous. Chad was right, she's done several of these since leaving _So Random_ but for some reason this one is getting to her nerves in a way the other ones didn't.

"So, Sonny," says Trevor. "You were just here a month ago."

"Yes, I was."

"How was the tour?"

"It was great," she sighs, "but I'm glad to be back."

"Well, we're glad to have you back." He nods and then looks at Chad, "Chad, it's been a while since we saw you. You kind of pulled yourself out of the limelight a lot. Want to tell us why that is? I think your fans would really like to know why you abandoned them and let _Mackenzie Falls_ tank."

"Trevor," Sonny says with a mock laugh, "I don't think that's important. We're here to talk about our show."

"Yes," says Trevor, "but it doesn't mean Chad can't answer the question."

"You don't need to be a brain surgeon to know the answer to that," says Chad as his face turns from warm, to a little hardened.

"What have you to say to that Sonny?" Trevor asks leaning forward in his chair.

"I have to say," she sighs, "that Chad and I are not the reason we're here."

"Oh who are you kidding?" Says Trevor. "Why else would we want you here?"

Chad and Sonny exchange a look.

"We're not here to talk about our new show?" asks Chad.

"Nope," Trevor shakes his head and there is a huge grin on his face. "We want to know about Channy. How is this new show going to affect Channy? Is there going to be a Channy take two in there?"

Sonny fakes a laugh, "Trevor. We're not here to talk about me and Chad."

"On the contrary," says Trevor. "We brought you here just to talk about the two of you."

"Well then," says Chad as he pulls his mic off. "Sonny?" She nods and pulls her microphone off as well. "When you actually want to talk about our show, go ahead and invite us back, and we promise we won't walk off set like we're going to, right now." On now they drop their microphones on their chairs and start to leave when they're stopped by a burly bodyguard. "Excuse me, kind sir," Chad says to the man.

"'Excuse me, kind sir'?" asks Sonny questioningly.

"You got something better?" Chad asks her half-heartedly.

"No, but," she laughs, "kind sir?"

"Oh stop it," Chad wipes the air in front of them.

"I can't let you leave," says the bodyguard.

"How much is it gonna cost you?" Chad and Sonny both pull out their wallets.

"A grand," he says.

"A grand?" they ask in unison.

"Each."

"Each?" they ask again in unison.

"Take it, or leave it." Says the guard with a smile.

"Fine," says Sonny as she pulls hundreds from her wallet. "I don't even know why I carry around this much cash."

"Here," says Chad taking the money and putting it in the guards hand, "ya big orge."

Sonny facepalms as the guard stops Chad and her from leaving.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah," says Chad, and there's a hint of the selfish, stuck up Chad that she remembered dumping. "I called you an ogre. What exactly are you going to do about it?"

"Ah!" says Sonny as she throws herself between them before the guard has a chance to punch Chad and pulls another five hundred from her wallet. "Extra to ignore him. I don't need to be paid to do it, but I'm going to pay you anyways."

"Okay," says the man as he takes the money and Sonny pushes Chad from the building.

"That was smart—"

"Thanks," says Chad with a smile.

"Not." Sonny finishes. "Did you learn nothing from Season 8 of _Mackenzie Falls_?"

"Sonny, it got to a point where I was just there and read the dialogue I had to for the day and then was done."

"What?"

"I stopped caring, Sonny."

"Chad…" before she has the time to say anything else, Tawni pulls up in a golf cart, yanks Sonny on beside her and drives away.

"Sorry, not sorry, Chad," Tawni hollers over her shoulder at Chad.

"Well I didn't want to talk to you anyway!" Chad yells back.

"Good!" yells Sonny.

"Good!" yells Chad.

"Fine!" yells Sonny.

"Fine!" yells Chad.

Maybe all hope isn't lost. Maybe they can still get along and work together. Maybe it's not as hopeless as she thought. Maybe he'll be okay, even though his heart is already aching because of her coming back into his life. He'd dated two people since Sonny, and didn't grow to care for either of them. Sonny dated several guys, no it hadn't worked out, but he had to watch from the sidelines and act like it didn't bother him, when it did. It really, truly did.


End file.
